New Articles on The Daily Dust today

Gordon Ramsay Jokes About Affair Allegations

Posted: 28 Nov 2008 07:51 AM CST

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay laughed off allegations of his affair at BBC’s Good Food Show in Birmingham. Ramsay has been under the spotlight after allegations that he had an affair with Sarah Symonds.

Ramsay joked about the allegations and referring to another celebrity chef, Delia Smith and her recent book entitled How to Cheat at Cooking said "”I have been up close and personal with Mrs Smith - Delia. I got in there.

“She gave me a book about how to cheat - but I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

Ramsay then went on to say “We had a new bed delivered this week - the paparazzi outside must have been thinking that I’d been forced to sleep in the basement.

“Mattress, mistress, mattress, mistress. What a load of b*******. My mum is here so I’m on my best behaviour, ooh la la.

“Oh f*** it, I didn’t do it mum. I love you. All my family here are well.”

World’s First Credit Crunch Traced back to 88 BC

Posted: 28 Nov 2008 07:32 AM CST

An Oxford University historian has discovered what he believes is the world’s first credit crunch in 88BC.

Philip Kay has isolated similarities between what is happening today as what was happening 21 centuries ago.

“The essential similarity between what happened 21 centuries ago and what is happening in today’s UK economy is that a massive increase in monetary liquidity culminated with problems in another country causing a credit crisis at home. In both cases distance and over-optimism obscured the risk,” said Kay.

The lecture being given by Kay will speak of how a Roman orator, Cicero, gave a speech which credit crunch was revealed. The speech in 66 BC by the orator reminded audience what happened in 88 BC, when Mithridates invaded the Roman province in Asia. The invasion caused the loss of so much Roman money that the credit system was destroyed in Rome.

The orator told his audience: “Defend the republic from this danger and believe me when I tell you - what you see for yourselves - that this system of monies, which operates at Rome in the Forum, is bound up in, and is linked with, those Asian monies; the loss of one inevitably undermines the other and causes its collapse.”

Kay said: “In second-century and early first-century BC Rome, increased inflows of bullion combined with an expansion in the availability of credit to produce a massive growth in Rome’s money supply. This increase in the supply and availability of money in turn resulted both in a major increase in Roman economic activity and, eventually, in the credit crisis which Cicero describes.”

Unfortunately, there is very little evidence on the next 20 years. So, how the Romans got out of credit crunch remains a mystery.

How To Power your IPhone with Onions

Posted: 28 Nov 2008 03:01 AM CST

Ingredients required, an Iphone or IPod, bottle of “Powerade” a bag of onions

Owen Louis, 21, from Portsmouth has discovered how to power his Ipod by using onions. Onions.

Apparently, he simply bores two holes in an onion, then soaks his veg in a sports drink (the one Louis has used with best results is Powerade), then he plugs in the USB cable. “The Ipod will charge for an hour.”

Phil Stubbles (why are they always called Phil Stubbles), a physics lecturer from St Vincent College in Gosport, Hampshire, said in the metro ‘The only problem is you have no control over how long it may work for … and it can be smelly,’ he added.

We are more convinced that Nessie exists - if the Government find Nessie with Dolphins, we’ll try the onions out..

Britney Won’t be Giving a Masterclass

Posted: 28 Nov 2008 02:28 AM CST

Britney Spears performing in Germany last night.

Britney, 26, has banned any of the finalists on X Factor from watching her rehearse and will not be giving a masterclass unlike diva Mariah Carey and the boys from Take That. We thought Miss Carey was a diva, we’re told she is nothing compared to Miss Spears. Demanding two luxury motor homes instead of the normal one to change in, Simon Cowell has now given her his personal green room.

Her appearance on Saturday’s X Factor will mark a reunion for Spears and former choreographer (now X Factor choreographer) Brian Friedman. It will also be her first performance on British TV in five years.

Friedman said: ‘She is such a sweet, endearing person. It will be nice to reconnect.

‘Last year, I asked her to come and do X Factor but she was too hectic…Her performance is going to be incredible.’ Even better if she leaves her ego in the campervan..

Behr Out of the Woods

Posted: 28 Nov 2008 02:08 AM CST

Dani Behr was last night the second celebrity voted out of the Jungle

After being evicted in a vote-off against “Credit-Card-Carly” Zucker, Behr said "I'm surprised I coped with the living conditions. But it's amazing what you get used to and what you can live without.

"The only thing that got to me was Timmy's laugh. I was like, 'just shut up' — it's non-stop.

When pressed by Ant and Dec she told that wanted Joe “Swashy” Swash or Simon “who?” Webbe to win the show.

On Tuesday night, we told how Robert Kilroy-Silk was the first celebrity to be evicted out of camp.

Actor Swashy is the favourite but our pre-show tip Esther Rantzen is following right behind..

One To Watch: The IT Crowd

Posted: 28 Nov 2008 12:00 AM CST

Moss, Roy and Jen, stuck in the basement. Hilarity ensues.

What’s the one thing in the world that the IT Support team blokes are useless at? That’s right, football. So tonight’s episode of The IT Crowd (Channel 4, 10.30 pm) should be a scream as the boys browse to a new football news site to make themselves into ‘proper’ men. Which I suspect is going to end up in farce; while Jen, their relationship manager who knows nothing about computing is dating a man who looks a bit like a magician.

Now in its third year, The IT Crowd is proving a slow burning success - witness it winning Best comedy at the recent International Emmies. Channel Four have promised a fourth year of fun assuming the ratings hold for this series, so it’s to Graham Linehan’s credit that he’s carrying on where he left off last year and got them out the basement and interacting with ‘normal’ people in the office, although Matt Berry’s libertine CEO threatens to steal every scene he is in.

No IT knowledge required, this is a classic British sitcom and should be allowed to run for years and years. Catch it now.

(The IT Crowd, Channel 4, 10.30pm).

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Damian Green, MP, Arrested

Posted: 27 Nov 2008 03:55 PM CST

Shadow Home Office Minister arrested for leaking documentation.

Scotland Yard have arrested a man for suspicion of “conspiring to commit misconduct in public office.” The Conservative Party have released a statement confirming that this man is Shadow Home Office Minister Damian Green.

Speculation around Westminster is naturally at a fever pitch. One consideration is that Parliament rose today for a five day holiday, and thus the issue has not been able to be raised with The Speaker, who’s Sergeant at Arms would have needed to give permission for the Police to search Green’s Westminster office.

Further details will no doubt be forthcoming, as David Cameron has a press conference scheduled for 8am tomorrow morning, but this news post, from The Sun earlier in November, could be relevant.

Spiderpig - You’re Nicked!

Best bets to kick off a winning weekend

Posted: 27 Nov 2008 02:42 PM CST

It's the second day of the Newbury Hennessy meeting on Friday, where I'll be hoping to be peg back Thursday's losses – a repeat of last week which came good at the weekend!

The one that stands out at the Berkshire venue this afternoon is Ballydub (2.05) from the Philip Hobbs yard that is always respected in handicap hurdles here and who won this event two years ago.

This lightly raced type very much caught the eye on his seasonal return at Cheltenham earlier this month when chasing home the useful Punchestowns. He should strip fitter here with the cobwebs blown away and is favourably handicapped off the same mark.

Donald McCain Junior – son of the legendary Ginger, who trained Rud Rum – has his horses in good order at present and can advertise the fact with Notre Cyborg (2.55) at Musselburgh.

This novice chaser split a pair of subsequent victors at Bangor in October before finding better class events too hot the last twice when unfancied at 28-1 and 14-1. Back in more suitable company today, he can get back on the winning trail.

The final bet of the day comes in two parts on the all-weather track at Kempton, where Mister Ross and Perfect Act (8.50) should both be backed in the class 3 seven-furlong handicap.

The former is a horse on the up, having demolished his rivals the last twice, including on this surface at Lingfield recently. He hung right in the straight day but will be more at home around this clockwise venue. Perfect Act should also be backed as she showed enough at Lingfield last time to suggest she could be winning soon. This filly made steady late ground into third onto the heels of the runner-up, Mister New York who has since won a similar race, and Perfect Act could follow suit.

Read more from David on his blog http://www.racingtrendsrevealed.blogspot.com/

If anyone is interested in a historic guide to this season’s major jumps races, then his latest book “Racing Trends Revealed Jumps 2009″ is available at High Stakes website.

Alternatively, there is a competition running on the guardian website all this week to win a copy of it.

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/horseracing (talking horses) for further details.

Swapping Drogba for Adriano probably isn’t the best idea

Posted: 27 Nov 2008 09:56 AM CST

Former Chelsea striker Kerry Dixon reckons the rumoured swap of Adriano for Didier Drogba wouldn’t be the best idea in the world. It’s hard to disagree with him, as the notion of putting a notorious party-boy in the bright lights of London with a fat wad of sterling in his pocket doesn’t really seem like the best idea. Anelka is doing the business, Drogba tells everyone and their mother that he wants to leave Chelsea virtually every transfer window, so let’s just put an end to it all.

"Drogba is the better of the two,” Dixon told FourFourTwo. “Adriano is an untried quantity in the Premier League. Meanwhile - on his day - Drogba is one of the best strikers in the world.

“It’s going to be very hard to dislodge Anelka, with the way he’s scoring goals and getting on the end of things, but Didier has been outstanding in the past.”